Passenger Question. Re- Strange Noise/Maneuver

Saab Ed

Hello all. Regular lurker in here listening to you guys chat. Always learning

Anyway I'm not a big flyer, 3 or 4 flights a year and all short/shortish in distance. I was arriving back from Vienna a while back on an Aer Lingus Airbus (320 I think) and shortly after we started to decend into Dublin the aircraft seemed to do something that I'd never felt or heard before.

We began to slow in the air as the brakes were applied (spoilers, is that what they're called!) but instead of the nose pointing down the aircraft appeared to be nose up. As well as this the noise level in the cabin went up considerably and almost sounded like gravel was running along the under carraige of the aircraft. We were only 2 or 3 minutes into the initial decent at this point. It lasted about 30-40 seconds and then stopped. We decended even more nose down and then the pilot went and repeated this maneuver one more time. Cabin lights were still on and it was 10 minutes till we landed.

Now I know nothing was actually wrong, I'd just love to know what exactly was going on, what was and why was the pilot slowing the aircraft differntly from all the other flights I've been on.

Thanks in advance, Ed.

EchoIndia

Speed reduction? Jets are not easily able to descend and reduce speed at the same time, though.

cml387

It may have been a late runway change?

Stovepipe

The Airbus has three hydraulic systems so you are hearing the pumps running and the mechanical drive to the flaps and spoilers operating. The undercarriage takes about 40 seconds to travel down and the doors have to open first and then close again. After that, you're hearing aerodynamic noise as the flaps go out.
regards
Stovepipe

bluecode

Stovie, knows what he's talking about. If you check the internet there are a lot of comments about noise in Airbuses. It's just hyrdaulics and aerodynamic noise.

Normal although a bit disconcerting to the unitiated.